BOOKSTAGRAM AND READING HABITS FOR THE 21ST ONLINE CONSUMER: A ROMANIAN CHAPTER

We are in a new era in which digital is intertwining with the needs of individuals, offering them modern solutions and new benefits in terms of their online experiences with certain products or services. Moreover, the literary world is shaping itself according to readers' demands to be constantly up to date with publishing releases or trends in terms of the most frequently read books. Thus, the current study explores how digital platforms, certain social media platforms, influence the book consumption behaviour of Romanians who are part of the bookstagram community. In other words, the article traces reading habits in Romania through a mixed method of analysis: a survey and a comparative analysis, starting from a dataset obtained through a questionnaire with bookstagram members (n=91) and a nationwide survey conducted by Libris (n=1695). Moreover, it traces how the bookstagram phenomenon shapes book consumption among respondents, highlighting similarities and differences in the reading behaviours of the two samples. To this end, reading preferences, book purchase frequency and ways of informing future reading are analysed. Therefore, the research results aim to provide clarity on the current situation of Romanian readers who frequent the digital environment, especially book communities such as bookstagram. The article also represents a starting point in identifying the influence of this phenomenon on book consumers.